Continent of Andras, Lunaris, 4 Alorinni, 882 Lumina Calendar. Sapiens Kingdom, Prospera, Cremation/Body Disposal Area. Daytime.
Currently, Damian is inside a messy tent, lying on a straw bed. He is contemplating what he should do next.
It has been two days (counting today) since he arrived in this world, but there haven't been any interesting events or incidents during that time. He has been simply lying around, eating, and sleeping throughout the days spent in this world.
"Normally, people who are reincarnated like me would gain special abilities or cheat systems, as I read in online novels..." he murmurs while lying on the straw bed.
"But now... I don't possess any special abilities or anything extraordinary, and it leaves me confused about what I should do next..." he continues, trying to sit up on the straw bed.
"Sigh, never mind, there's no use pondering over it... I'll just go for a walk and explore the surroundings," he continues, then he stands up and exits the messy tent.
In a nutshell, during his leisurely journey, 10-year-old Damian Blackwood arrives at the training area of the knights in this camp.
There, he sees the knights practicing thrusting, slashing, and using their spears and swords repeatedly on straw dummies resembling scarecrows.
In that place, there is also a Knight Commander who is supervising his subordinates during their training. His face looks serious and slightly intimidating to Damian.
Damian continues to observe the knights practicing with enthusiasm. He thinks it would be really cool if he could wield a spear or a sword like them.
The Knight Commander, who was overseeing his subordinates, suddenly turns and notices Damian standing outside the training field. He then approaches him.
With a serious tone, the Knight Commander asks Damian, "Are you feeling alright, young one?"
Surprised by the question, Damian gazes at the Knight Commander and nods his head. "Yes, I'm feeling fine now. It's all thanks to the help of the Commander and the magic of Lord Priest yesterday. I don't know how I can repay the kindness of the Commander and Lord Priest," he answers with a smile.
The Knight Commander also smiles upon hearing Damian's response and nods his head. "You don't need to think about repaying it, young one. I helped you out of my own volition," he says to Damian, giving him a message not to dwell too much on gratitude.
Damian feels warmth in his heart and smiles upon hearing the words of the Knight Commander, whose face appears fierce but possesses a kind heart. He feels truly grateful and promises to repay the kindness of the Knight Commander and Lord Priest someday.
"Ahem, so... Why did you come here?" the Knight Commander asks Damian, looking at him with a smile on his face.
"I was just strolling around and exploring this camp, Commander. And I ended up here at the training area, hehehe," Damian answers while scratching his head.
The Knight Commander pauses for a moment, then replies, "Ah, I see... It can be boring to stay cooped up in a tent without doing anything." He gazes at Damian and continues, "How about joining the training with my subordinates? I noticed you were observing us earlier, and it seems like you're interested."
Damian's eyes instantly light up upon hearing that, and he responds with enthusiasm, "Are you serious?"
Seeing Damian's excitement, the Knight Commander smiles warmly and answers, "Yes, you can join the training with us. I also noticed that you have the potential to become a knight." He observes Damian's small frame from top to bottom.
"W-Well then... I will join the training!" Damian answers with uncontrollable joy.
The Knight Commander nods his head, then points to a wooden barrel containing various training equipment. "Take a sword and gloves that suit you from there, then you can start training with them," he says, pointing his thumb behind him.
"Alright, Commander!" Damian answers eagerly.
He runs towards the wooden barrel containing a variety of training tools, as indicated by the Knight Commander. Damian then takes a pair of leather gloves and a short sword that matches his body size.
Damian puts on the leather gloves and glances at the short sword in his hand. "I can't believe that I'm actually holding a real sword now. This is an experience I could never have in my previous world..." Damian thinks, reminiscing about his past life before being reborn into this world.
As his thoughts start to drift, Damian shakes his head, trying not to dwell too much on his previous life.
"I am now Damian Blackwood in this fantasy world, no longer Damian Suryana on Earth..." he murmurs to himself, attempting to forget the past of his previous life.
Damian then turns around and strides towards the training field, wearing the leather gloves and holding the short sword in his hand. Despite being a 10-year-old child, he appears confident.
...
In the midst of the stone lifting training session, Damian suddenly exclaims, "I can't take it anymore!" He grits his teeth and releases the heavy stone he was lifting.
"Don't give up so easily, young one! Rise up and lift that stone!" the Knight Commander shouts at Damian.
Gasping for breath, Damian feels frustrated upon hearing the Knight Commander's words. This training has truly transformed the Commander's demeanor drastically.
A few moments ago...
"Alright, let's begin the training, young one," the Knight Commander says as he looks at Damian, who is already dressed in training gear and holding a short sword.
He glances at the sword in Damian's hand and continues, "Put down the sword for now; we will start with physical exercises."
Damian follows the Commander's command and places the sword he was holding next to the straw dummy.
"Lie down in your position," the Commander instructs Damian.
Damian nods and immediately assumes a prone position.
"Raise and lower your hands, making sure the upper part of your body doesn't touch the ground," the Commander continues.
Damian starts following the Knight Commander's directions, thinking to himself, "These are push-ups, right?"
"Good, that's it," the Knight Commander says as he watches Damian quickly grasp his instructions. "Do that one hundred times. If you stop, I will spank you with this wooden sword," the Commander adds, showing the wooden sword he is holding.
"Huh?! B-but, I'm just a ten-year-old kid, Commander. How can I-" Damian doesn't have a chance to finish his sentence as the Commander cuts him off.
"No excuses!" the Commander shouts, his demeanor appearing to make a 180-degree turn.
"If you want to follow my training, you must do it wholeheartedly regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or age!" the Commander continues with a slightly intimidating expression.
"What is this? He's really serious! And what does training have to do with race and the other things he mentioned?" Damian grumbles to himself.
And so, Damian continues to endure the rigorous training from the Knight Commander, unable to escape from it.
Back to the present...
"Come on, young one! Don't give up so easily!" the Knight Commander shouts with enthusiasm, continuously pushing Damian to continue.
"It hurts so much..." Damian thinks to himself, gritting his teeth, trying to overcome the pain caused by the training.
With strong determination, Damian rises from the ground and begins lifting the large stone again with both hands. Although he feels that the Knight Commander can turn into a maniac during training, he also realizes that the Commander has good intentions to train him to become stronger.
Several minutes pass, and Damian persists in lifting the heavy stone with determination. After completing the stone lifting exercise, the Knight Commander orders him to run around the training field for 20 minutes without stopping.
"I'm really going to die if this keeps up!" Damian complains inwardly, feeling immense fatigue.
____________________
Evening...
Several hours have passed, and Damian continues to exert himself in following the training given by the Knight Commander. Finally, according to Damian, the training is now over.
Damian lies exhausted on the ground, gasping for breath. "Haah... Haah... I'm thirsty..." he mutters hoarsely.
Seeing Damian's condition, the Knight Commander approaches him and tosses a leather pouch containing drinking water towards him.
"Drink, child. I apologize for not being able to control myself during your training," the Knight Commander says with regret in his tone, standing in front of Damian.
Damian sits up and quickly drinks from the pouch. "Glup... Glup..." After feeling his thirst quenched a bit, Damian replies, "It's okay, Commander. I wanted to participate in this training, so you don't have to feel guilty like that," with a smile.
However, deep down, Damian still feels irritated.
The Knight Commander, hearing Damian's forgiveness, smiles warmly. "You truly are a good child," he says sincerely.
Damian scratches the back of his head while smiling, then replies, "Ahahaha, you always say nice things about me."
The Knight Commander simply gazes at Damian with a smile on his face. The smile of the young Damian has the power to calm his heart.
"Take a short break, child. Once your stamina is restored, we will continue the training," the Knight Commander says before leaving.
"Alright, Commander! And please call me Damian, that's my name!" Damian replies.
The Knight Commander pauses for a moment, looks at Damian, and says, "Very well, Damian. You can also call me by my name, Richard." He smiles as he gazes at Damian.
"Yes, Commander Richard!" Damian smiles cheerfully as well.
Commander Richard nods before heading towards his members who are still training. Damian can only smile as he watches his back covered by a blue suit of armor.
"So, there's still more training to come..." Damian murmurs weakly and immediately lies down on the ground.
...
In the midst of swinging his sword at the straw dummy during training, Damian notices something peculiar in his vision.
| SP: 3,400/6,000 |
"Huh?! What's this? Stamina Points?" Damian wonders, perplexed by what he sees in his field of vision.
He then looks towards Commander Richard, who is standing beside him, and asks, "Commander, can you see this?" while pointing towards the thing that appears in front of him.
"Hmph?! I don't see anything! Don't pretend and continue your training!" Commander Richard responds, disregarding Damian's words.
Damian clicks his tongue upon hearing the Commander's statement and immediately resumes his training, with the Stamina Points hovering above his left field of vision, along with the decreasing number each time he swings his sword.
After finishing his sword swings, Damian proceeds with the self-defense training as instructed by Commander Richard. The number floating above the left side of his field of vision continues to decrease each time he follows the self-defense moves demonstrated by Commander Richard.
Damian's training doesn't stop there; he also has to undergo the final training session of the day with the other members under the guidance of Commander Richard.
| SP: 950/6,000 |
During the group training, Damian starts to feel tired as the number next to SP keeps decreasing. "I've seen this before... Ah, yes, I remember. This is the status window showing the Stamina Points of the character in the game I used to play before dying," Damian recalls his addiction to a soulslike game.
"But... Why is it appearing here? This is the real world, not a game!" he exclaims in his mind, growing more confused.
He continues to ponder the Stamina Points from the game while carrying on with the training alongside the other knights. However, his confusion causes him to lose focus on the training.
...
In short, Damian manages to complete his grueling training with great difficulty. His body now feels extremely sore and unable to move.
"Damn it! I need a shower!" Damian grumbles in his mind, disturbed by the unpleasant odor clinging to his body.
Damian is the only one who feels the need to shower, while the other knights, despite being sweaty and smelly, don't consider it necessary.
Unable to move, Damian asks for assistance from other knights to carry him into the tent. Kind-hearted, they comply with Damian's request and help him.
Although Damian can hardly bear their smell and nearly feels nauseated, he has no other choice at the moment.
Shortly after, they arrive at Damian's tent and place him on the bed. "Thank you..." Damian expresses his gratitude to them.
The knights simply smile in response and then leave Damian alone in the messy tent.
"Ugh... Their smell is truly medieval. Nevertheless, they are still good people," Damian says while trying to move his body.
Finally, after a few minutes, Damian's body can be moved again, although still feeling sore. "Phew... I need to check it now," Damian murmurs while stretching his body.
"But, how?" Damian tilts his head, asking himself.
"Hm... Status window?" he mumbles hesitantly, but nothing happens.
"Hm... That's the status window from the soulslike game, so... Souls Status?" he continues, and suddenly something appears in his field of vision.
| Name: Damian Blackwood |
| HP: 5,000/5,000 |
| MP: 4,000/4,000 |
| SP: 5,650/6,000 |
| XP: 0/5 |
| Level: 0 |
| Status Effects: |
| -Pain |
| Stats: |
| -Strength: 5 |
| -Speed: 6 |
| -Intelligence: 4 |
| -Stamina: 6 |
| Inventory: |
| -HP Potion ×100 |
| -MP Potion ×100 |
| -Fire Bomb ×10 |
| -Bow ×1 |
| -Arrow ×1000 |
| -Longsword ×1 |
| -Shield ×1 |
| -Cloak ×1 |
| Market |
| Souls: 999,999,999,999 |
Seeing his status clearly displayed in his field of vision, Damian exclaims with joy, "Yeah! This is it, my cheat system!"
"But what's with this amount of souls?!" he continues with wide-eyed astonishment.
(Note: Souls are the currency usually found in soulslike games)
Damian then looks at his souls count, which is truly unbelievable, and wonders where all these souls came from. "Ah, I understand! Maybe this is the result of converting my in-game items from that damn game!" Damian exclaims confidently.
He then remembers his life on Earth, his previous life, where he spent all his savings just to buy those addictive in-game items.
Damian smiles bitterly as he recalls it all, but quickly shakes his head to bury his past. He is now someone different, and that past must be left behind.
After that, Damian sees the | Market | in his field of vision and wonders how to access it. He considers various possibilities, uttering words like "Market" and "Soul Market," but nothing happens.
"Damn it! How do I open it?" Damian exclaims in frustration, trying various methods he read about in online novels.
Unconsciously, Damian focuses his mind on the | Market | in his Souls Status, wishing to open it.
And suddenly...
The status window changes and is replaced with various menus, including weapons, cloaks, apples, and various other items that he can use or consume.
| Market: |
| Equipment: | Items: | Consumables: |
"Wow! With this Cheat System, can I become the strongest?" Damian asks enthusiastically, not expecting an answer from anyone.
However, he still doesn't realize that in the future, with the power of this Souls Status, he will become a figure who could even pose a threat to this world.